Joanna Young was born and raised in Omaha, NE. While attending New York University, she was cast in the National Tour of Les Miserables which traveled the United States and played Singapore. During her stint with Les Miz, Joanna played both Eponine and Cosette on a regular basis.
Joanna made her Broadway debut in Grease! after touring the country with the same production. During that time she played Rizzo, Marty, Jan, and Cha Cha, and also understudied such stars as Lucy Lawless, Jasmine Guy, Sheena Easton, and Deborah Gibson.
Joanna had the privilege to understudy Sutton Foster as Janet in the Broadway company of The Drowsy Chaperone.
Some of Joanna’s favorite regional roles include Diana and Val in A Chorus Line, Gertrude McFuzz in Seussical and many zany characters in I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change. She has also performed in numerous concerts and cabarets in NYC and across the country, including with her hometown’s Omaha Symphony.
Joanna is a member of the Midtown Direct Rep, through which she helped develop the musical Rated P...for Parenthood. Joanna starred in the Off-Broadway transfer of Rated P at the Westside Theatre in New York City, and can be heard on the original cast recording.
Joanna is the mother of three boys and resides in Maplewood, NJ, the town the New York Times calls "where Broadway goes home to sleep."